Founded in 1967 by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, Hipgnosis studio transformed the look of music albums forever. Their revolutionary cover art moved away from the conventional group shots favored by record companies of the day, resulting in the ground-breaking, mainly surreal photo designs which define the albums of many of the biggest names in the history of popular music: 10cc, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Syd Barrett, Throbbing Gristle, T. Rex, Wings, Yes, Bad Company and XTC to name but a few.

Now, at last, the complete, definitive and never-before-published catalogue of Hipgnosis, Vinyl . Album . Cover . Art, does justice to the work of the most important design collective in music history. Arranged chronologically, it features every single Hipgnosis cover – 373 in total – all stunningly remastered from the original artwork, coupled with detailed information by “Po” and Storm Thorgerson on the images and the stories behind their creation. An insightful introductory text by “Po” charts the story of Hipgnosis, while extensive articles by Peter Gabriel, Storm Thorgerson, Marcus Bradbury, and Pentagram’s Harry Pearce provide engrossing insights into the way these incredible artworks came into being, place the covers in context, and reflect on their enduring impact on album design.

AUBREY “PO” POWELL BIO

Aubrey “Po” Powell co-founded the design studio Hipgnosis with the late Storm Thorgerson in 1967. They were nominated for five Grammy Awards for their work. In 1982 the pair, alongside Peter Christopherson, formed Greenback Films, making many music videos and three feature films. In 1984 “Po” founded the film company Aubrey Powell Productions, directing and producing TV commercials, music videos, documentaries and “live” music films. By 1990, “Po” was the creative director for The Paul McCartney World Tour, designing the video wall and filmed images. He has since directed many films, including “The Final Word” about the Kray Twins, “The Bull Runners of Pamplona” which won best documentary at the New Jersey Film Festival in 2012, and Monty Python’s “One Down And Five To Go,” for which he was nominated for a BAFTA in 2015. He is the author of Hipgnosis | Portraits, and is the creative director of Pink Floyd, with whom he is currently working on the forthcoming V&A exhibition “Their Mortal Remains.”